MALAYSIA. Preliminary figures released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) indicate continued growth in passenger traffic for the month of May.
Reflecting the robust regional economic upturn, Asia Pacific-based airlines carried a total of 14.6 million international passengers in May, +17.6% more than in the same month last year.
International traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), grew by +14.6%. With +3.3% more capacity, the average international passenger load factor increased by +7.3 percentage points to 74.6%.
Commenting on the results, AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman said: “The latest set of air traffic figures confirms the underlying strength of the economic recovery, led by dynamic growth in the Asia Pacific region.
“For the first five months of the year, Asia Pacific carriers reported a welcome +10.7% increase in international passenger traffic, as both leisure and business travel demand picked up. International freight traffic also bounced back sharply, up +35.6% compared to last year’s slump.”
“Asia Pacific airlines are responding quickly to meet the welcome upturn in demand, whilst carefully managing capacity and costs. Both business confidence and consumer sentiment are signalling a generally positive outlook for the second half of the year. This should give a boost to the travel and tourism industry, which is a significant driver for many economies in the region. Hopefully that, in turn, will be reflected in improved financial results for the region’s airlines,” Herdman added.
 |
Advertisement |
